Decider Essentials: Top 10 Romantic Comedies for People Who Hate Romantic Comedies

Are you the kind of person who hates it when you see couples holding hands or kissing in public? Do you think there’s no such thing as soul mates? Do you grind your teeth every time you see a trailer for a new movie starring Katherine Heigl or Jennifer Aniston about a pretty gal who just can’t get her love life together? Join the club. Luckily, there are some movies for people like us, and as much as we’d hate to admit it, they are technically romantic comedies. But, you know, the good ones. If you’re looking for one to watch tonight—in the privacy of your own home and without anyone finding out about it—here are a list of ten essential titles.

They Came Together

David Wain reunites many of the cast members from his cult classic Wet Hot American Summer to skewer the romantic comedy genre, with Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler playing a couple falling (sometimes literally) in love with each other.

If you can look past Ben Affleck’s goatee and Joey Lauren Adams’ baby-voiced lesbian, you get a romantic comedy for the comic book set that’s as clever, dirty, and arguably writer/director Kevin Smith’s best film.

Wes Anderson’s dark comedy follows the ambitious Max Fischer who pines for an elementary teacher at his prep school, only to find that his much older friend (played by the superb Bill Murray) also has her in his sights.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Gross, crude, awkward, and sometimes mean—The 40-Year-Old Virgin brings together some of Judd Apatow’s favorite stars for a cringe-worthy romantic comedy about growing up long after adolescence.

Hear me out on this one: on paper, it looks like a pretty standard, glossy, frilly, Julia Roberts-starring romantic comedy. But in reality, it subverts the genre by allowing the protagonist to slowly turn into a villain.